Richard Kamin column debuts this week

Richard "Dick" Kamin, a former five-term Republican state
Assemblyman and currently the director of the state division of
Motor Vehicle Services, debuts t his week in a monthly
column-writing role as the Republican counterpoint/point t o
Democrat Stephen Landfield in our monthly "Diametrically Opposed"
opinion pa ge feature. Mr. Kamin is filling in while Assemblyman
Michael Patrick Carroll, R-Morris, seeks re-election. Following our
long-standing policy, Mr. Carroll, as a declared candidate for
office, is prohibited from writing columns or letters to the editor
while campaigning. As a candidate, his viewpoints will be carried
in news stories for the duration of the primary and general
campaign.

Many readers may already be familiar with Mr. Kamin, a resident
of Mount Olive Township. Prior to first being elected to the state
Legislature in 1986, Mr. Kami n served eight years as a member of
the Mount Olive Township Council from 1978 t o 1986, including two
terms each as president and vice president.

He served in the Assembly from 1986 to 1994 when he was
appointed by former Gov. Christine Todd Whitman to lead the state
Motor Vehicle Services division.

While in the Assembly, Mr. Kamin at various times held the
positions of Assistant Majority Leader, Majority Whip, Assistant
Minority Whip, vice chairman of the Appropriations Committee and
chairman of its Ways and Means subcommittesee and a s a member of
the Joint Budget and Oversight Committee, as well as other
legislative positions.

He received the Legislator of the Year Award in August 1993 from
the American Legislative Exchange Council for his position on tax
and fiscal policy. He also served two terms by presidential
appointment on the U.S. Small Business Administration Advisory
Council.

Closer to home, he also served five years as the Morris County
Republican Party Chairman. He is a member and past president of the
Lions Club of Mount Olive, the founder of the Policeman Bulletproof
Vest Fund and a member of the National Rifle Association, the
American Legion and the Musconetcong Lodge 151 of Free &
Accepted Masons, Budd Lake.

He is also the former director of the Deaf Contact Center in
Morris County and w as president of the church council of Abiding
Peace Lutheran Church in Budd Lake.

Mr. Kamin served six years in the Navy submarine service and
attended Temple University in Philadelphia, majoring in business
and economics.

Mr. Kamin was vice president of a financial publishing firm and
a principal in a consulting firm, both in New Jersey.

He and his wife, Laurel Ann, and their two children reside in
Mount Olive Township.

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In recent weeks, Long Hill Township and Watchung Borough passed ordinances allowing their police departments to be able to apply for surplus equipment from the Department of Defense. Long Hill recently procured a Humvee to use in times of flooding, which Watchung states as the reason they are getting into the program. However, in cities around the country, police forces have used the program to obtain military gear, such as weapons and armor.
For more background, go to the link below
http://www.newjerseyhills.com/echoes-sentinel/news/watchung-police-department-hopes-to-receive-equipment-from-department-of/article_12ad002a-92b3-5449-a2cc-4b2cf0ce4339.html